Barbara P
Barbara P

Learn How to Title an Essay Like a Professional Writer

10 min read

Published on: Mar 1, 2023

Last updated on: Mar 9, 2023

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Are you feeling overwhelmed trying to come up with an eye-catching title for your essay? 

Don't despair! Creating the perfect title is within your reach with just a little creativity and the right approach. 

This blog post will provide tips and tricks on getting creative in titling your paper so that it stands out.

 If you're ready to become a creative writing pro, let's get started!

What is an Essay Title

An essay title is an initial thing that your audience will interact with. It is established that if your title is not strong and good, you lose half of the importance of your essay. 

Just as a book is judged by its cover, an essay is judged by its title.

Honestly, nobody reads anything with a boring and monotonous title. Have you ever read anything with a bad title that did not interest you? 

A title has a lot to do with your targeted audience, but your title should be attractive and appealing no matter what age you are targeting. 

Even if you are writing an academic essay for your instructor, it has to be catchy. 

A good title encourages readers to read your essay. It is the motivation you provide your audience to listen to what you are about to say in the essay. 

Purpose and Importance of Essay Title

A title holds great importance in essay writing. It can easily make or break the quality of your work. 

No matter who your audience is, you have to intrigue them with your title. You want them to read your essay and understand the main argument you presented. 

A title contributes to the overall success of the essay. Picking a title that grabs people's attention is like setting a fruitful basis for presenting your ideas.   

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Qualities of an Essay Title

When coming up with the topic or title for your essays, keep in mind that it should contain the following qualities: 

  • The title should be eye-catching and unique so that it catches the reader’s attention.
  • A good title is always believable and based on facts. Especially for writing essay types and papers that stand on facts and logic should have believable titles. 
  • Readability is key. Using fancy and bombastic vocabulary that is not common for the audience will affect the readership. 
  • A great essay title is always written in an active voice. 
  • The title should be brief and to the point. Avoid dragging titles into long sentences. 
  • An essay title should be accurate and clearly present the main theme of the essay. This will allow the reader to know what to expect from the essay. 

Components of an Essay Title

Just as all formal writings have an outline to follow, a good essay title is constructed using a formula as well. Keep in mind that the shorter, the better. A title must not exceed 10 to 12 words.

The components of an essay title include

  • An attention-grabbing and catchy hook
  • The keyword of an essay - Basically, the “what” in your essay
  • The focus keyword - the “where” and “when” in your essay. 

Once you know the importance and elements of an essay title, you are more likely to create a better title.

How to Title an Essay?

Almost all essay writers find it tricky to make an appropriate title for their essays. However, writing a title is not only based on good writing skills. You need to know the basics of creating it. 

A good and effective essay title can be created by taking the following steps:

1. First Write an Essay 

It’s really easy to create your title once you have written an entire essay. After writing your essay, you will be clear about what title suits your content the most.

Complete your essay and then start reading it. This will give you a clearer picture of how to address the essay properly.

Another advantage of writing a title at the end is that it saves a lot of your time. 

Expert Tip

Struggling with getting started with your essay? Check out this helpful guide on how to write an essay!

2. Brainstorm for the Title

Brainstorming for your title is the process of creating multiple ideas for your essay title before deciding on the final one. This can be done by jotting down keywords related to your topic and listing potential titles. 

Brainstorming can help you come up with creative and effective titles that make your essay stand out.

3. Use your Thesis Statement

There is another reason you should leave your title for an end. An effective title provides a reason for the readers to read your essay, and the best way of finding a reason is in the thesis statement of your essay. 

You can always get a title from a thesis statement or by using a part of that argument in the title. 

4. Popular Phrases

Catchphrases and cliches that go with the theme of your essay can be used as the titles as well. When popular phrases are appropriate and interesting, they make effective puns. 

Play with the cliches and twist them to create something of your own. Be creative and innovative for your titles as much as you can. 

5. Consider the Tone

Another trick to creating an effective title for your essay is to consider the essay’s tone and come up with something related to it. 

If the tone and subject of your essay are serious and sad, never make the mistake of addressing your title in an informal and fun way.  

Do not try to go off the wall in such cases. The tone of your essay and the title have a strong connection to a good essay. 

6. Use a Central Idea or a Quote 

It is not mandatory but an easy way to create a title that uses a central idea. You can use a quote as the title of your essay topic. 

If the purpose is served correctly, even song lyrics work the best sometimes. 

7. Summary in Three Words

The most common and basic technique is to get a title from the summary of your essay. 

A writer can summarize the entire essay or the central idea and thesis statement in three words and write a title. 

This can be a title by putting it in a headline, inserting a colon, and stating the purpose of your essay. 

8. Movie Titles in an Essay 

A movie title can also be used as a title in an essay.

There are some basic ways to do that. A writer can highlight the title, use a capital letter for the first letter of the movie title, and italicize its font. 

Another technique is by creating a sentence structure and using a movie title in it. You can use quotation marks as well as the underlining tool. However, title the essay according to the field of study and don’t make it irrelevant. 

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Mistakes to Avoid While Giving a Title to Your Essay

Here are some tips to keep in mind when crafting effective essay titles to avoid common mistakes:

  • Positive themes

Avoid writing about sensitive, unethical, or immoral topics, such as drugs, prostitution, or murder.

  • Personal information

Your personal negative experiences should not be included in your essay. However, you can still include lessons learned from those experiences in a professional manner.

  • Relevant Questions

Make sure to ask questions that are relevant to your field of study to ensure you choose an appropriate topic.

  • Professional tone

Keep your essay professional and avoid including personal information or experiences that are not relevant. Your readers are not interested in your personal life.

  • Understanding requirements

It's important to understand your professor's requirements to avoid choosing the wrong topic and wasting time and effort.

  • Neutral perspective

Avoid taking an offensive approach in your essay and steer clear of controversial topics such as religion, abortion, and politics.

How to Title an Essay in Different Formats?

All academic essays require a format through which the writer shapes his document. This format varies from academic level to level and institution as well. The format styles include MLA, APA, Chicago, and Harvard. 

MLA and APA are the two most common formats that are usually used. If you are writing an essay choosing a specific format, all of the parts should be drafted accordingly. 

From titling an essay to drawing a conclusion, the writer must follow the format properly to create a strong essay. 

How to Title an Essay in MLA Format?

No matter which essay format you are using to shape your argumentative essay, descriptive essay, etc. The qualities of the title and components remain the same.

Although the formatting of the title may differ. For an MLA style, format your essay title in the following pattern:

  • On the cover page of your essay, using double spacing, write your name in the upper left corner
  • Along with your name, present your instructor’s name, the course title, and the date. 
  • Double-space a line and using centered alignment, provide the essay title in font size 12 pt. 
  • Do not bold or italicize the title.
  • Capitalize important words only and not the articles in the title. 

How to Format an Essay in APA Format?

If you are writing an APA title, use the following guidelines to format your title and make your writing process easy: 

  • Type the title in upper and lowercase letters
  • Use centered alignment on the upper half of the page and write the title
  • The title in APA style should not exceed more than 12 words
  • Avoid using abbreviations and irrelevant words 
  • The title should be presented in a line or two and not more than that
  • Use double spacing between the lines 
  • Beneath the title, write your name and the institutional affiliation.

Essay Title Examples

Just like the tone of every essay differs, the title also differs from each type of essay. For example, movie titles can only be used for informal writing and narrative essays. 

Some examples of essay titles are provided below.

How To Title an Essay About a Book - Example

  • "The Power of Language in [Book Title]"
  • "A Critical Analysis of [Book Title]"
  • "Themes of [Book Title]: A Close Reading"

How To Title an Essay For College -Example

  • "The Importance of [Topic] in Today's Society"
  • "Exploring [Topic] Through a [Theoretical Framework] Lens"
  • "Challenging [Conventional Thought/Belief] in [Topic]"

How To Title an Essay About Yourself -Example

  • "Discovering [Your Name]: A Personal Journey"
  • "The Evolution of [Your Name]: Reflections and Lessons Learned"
  • "Finding [Your Purpose/Identity] Through [Life Experience/Event]"

How To Title an Essay Format- Example

  • "APA Style: A Guide to [Essay Topic]"
  • "MLA Format: An Examination of [Essay Topic]"
  • "The Benefits of [Format] for [Essay Topic] Writing"

Check out these free downloadable examples as well!

The success of your overall essay is not just based on how well you presented the argument and conducted research to gather the information. A title plays a vital role as well. 

Creative titles are like the icing on the cake. Nobody will want to read it when it will not appeal to them. 

Students find it hard to develop a perfect headline for their essays. So they look for help to design their title page perfectly, but following these easy tricks, it is possible to draft an effective essay title. 

If you too struggle with essay writing, don't worry - you're not alone. That’s what our essay writing service is here to help you with! Whether you need help with coming up with a good title or writing the entire essay, our writers have got your back.

Our professional essay writer will get a top-quality and unique essay for you on your time.

So why wait? Let our professionals handle your essays!

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some catchy titles?

Here are some catchy titles: 

  • I Lost weight in ten days. 
  • Six lies make your life tough. 
  • Learn an essay in ten minutes. 

How can I choose a title that fits the tone of my essay?

When choosing a title for your essay, consider the tone you are trying to convey. If your essay is more serious or formal, choose a title that reflects this. Whereas a more light-hearted or humorous essay may benefit from a more playful title.

Can a title affect the success of my essay?

Yes, a title can have an impact on the success of your essay. A well-crafted title can draw the reader in and encourage them to continue reading. On the other hand, a poor title may turn them away before they even start.

Barbara P

WRITTEN BY

Barbara P (Literature, Marketing)

Barbara is a highly educated and qualified author with a Ph.D. in public health from an Ivy League university. She has spent a significant amount of time working in the medical field, conducting a thorough study on a variety of health issues. Her work has been published in several major publications.

Barbara is a highly educated and qualified author with a Ph.D. in public health from an Ivy League university. She has spent a significant amount of time working in the medical field, conducting a thorough study on a variety of health issues. Her work has been published in several major publications.

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